


start my life all anew

by persephoneggsy



Series: Body Swap/Soulmate YoI AU [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Body Swap, Danseur Yuuri, Fluff, M/M, Rated for Yurio's pottymouth, Romantic Soulmates, skater Victor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 13:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9327563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephoneggsy/pseuds/persephoneggsy
Summary: When the youngest soulmate turns 21, you switch bodies for one day.Victor Nikiforov is still a famous figure skater. But Yuuri Katsuki is a ballet danseur, and currently training under one Lilia Baranovskaya.





	

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "If I Had You" by Al Bowlly
> 
> I just wanted more Ballet!Yuuri content tbh. And I've always liked these soulmate AUs where you swap bodies with each other lol

* * *

 

Victor wakes up in an unfamiliar room.

The walls are covered in a tasteful floral wallpaper, and the top and bottom edges are lined with gold molding carved into delicate designs. It’s really quite a beautiful room; one you might see featured in an important magazine, or maybe the set of a movie.

Of course, Victor doesn’t see any of that at first, because his vision is unbelievably blurry, no matter how much he rubs his eyes.

He feels around blindly, touching soft blankets first, then the wooden surface of the bedside-table, until he finally finds a pair of glasses folded neatly next to what he assumes is a lamp. Barely thinking about it, he places the glasses on his face, and the world is suddenly clear, which is when he takes in the room. It’s definitely not his sleek, modern apartment, and Makkachin is nowhere to be seen, when he would normally be curled up on the foot of Victor’s bed.

“What the…” he starts to say, only to be startled by the new voice that certainly isn’t his own. His Russian is accented with something he can’t yet identify, and that’s when it clicks in his head.

He’s in his soulmate’s body – it’s finally happened.

Not wasting a second, Victor throws off the sheets and jumps out of bed, looking wildly around the room for the nearest reflective surface. He spots an adjacent room, the door just slightly ajar, and sees the telltale tile floor of a bathroom. He dashes inside, excitement swelling by the second.

He’s gone _five whole years_ without this incredible event happening, ever since his own 21st birthday. Of course, he’d rationalized then that he was probably older than his soulmate, that it would happen when it would happen, but as the years passed, even Victor’s stubborn optimism had begun to waver.

But not anymore. He skids into the bathroom to find a mirror hanging above the sink. He steps in front of it without another moment’s hesitation, and finds himself looking into the face of his soulmate.

He’s Asian, probably Japanese if Victor had to guess, with choppy black hair and brown eyes that blink curiously behind his blue-framed glasses.

 _Oh my god, he’s so cute – !_ is Victor’s first thought, and he beams brightly at his reflection, heart fluttering at the sight of his soulmate’s smile looking back at him.

Victor steps back to take in more of his soulmate’s appearance – he’s got a slender, willowy frame, delicate hands, and small feet that he looks down at, only to yelp in surprise when he sees them covered in bruises and bandages. He immediately feels a pang of sympathy for his soulmate – what on earth had happened to him to get him such painful marks?

Victor’s startled by knocking coming from the main bedroom. He pokes his head out just as a muffled female voice calls out, “Yuuri?”

He blinks, looking around and expecting to see a tiny blond glaring at him inside the room. Then, logic hits him. So, his soulmate’s name is Yuri? He wonders what his own Yuri will say about that.

The female speaks up again, in moderately-accented English. “Or am I speaking to Yuuri’s soulmate?”

He pads back into the bedroom. “Soulmate,” he answers, just before he opens the door. On the other side is a tall, imposing woman, but what shocks Victor is that he already knows her.

“Lilia?” he asks, gaping.

Lilia raises an eyebrow, clearly surprised herself to be recognized. “Do we know each other?”

“It’s – well,” Victor gestures uselessly at himself, before realizing that he’s only gesturing to his soulmate’s body. “It’s me. Victor Nikiforov. Yakov is my coach?” They’ve met, however briefly, on a few occasions through Yakov, though he’s been understandably wary of meeting with his ex-wife after their divorce.

When he says his name, Lilia’s jaw drops _,_ and Victor revels for a moment in having put that expression on the otherwise expressionless woman’s face. But, she quickly schools her countenance into something more quietly interested, and taps a finger against her lips.

“Small world,” she murmurs. “My ex-husband’s student is my student’s soulmate?”

Victor smiles widely. “My soulmate is a ballet dancer?” That explained the feet, then.

She nods. “His name is Yuuri Katsuki. And he’s not just a dancer, he’s my protégé.”

She turns around before Victor can ask for more information, but she tilts her head back to address him.

“Follow me. I told Yuuri to call me as soon as he got his bearings in his soulmate’s body.”

No further explanation needed, Victor bounces happily after her.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri awakes in an unfamiliar room.

What wakes him is a weight on his legs, shifting and insistent, and he opens his eyes to see a large dog – a poodle? – standing over him, tongue lolling out.

Still shaking off the last remnants of sleep, Yuuri is at first, only confused. Madam Baranovskaya has a strict no-pets rule, so how did a dog find its way to Yuuri’s room?

The dog bows its head and licks a wet stripe up Yuuri’s face, startling him into full awareness as he sits up and sputters, waving his arms around in a vain attempt to push the overly-affectionate dog away.

“Down… Down boy!” he begs, though he can’t help but laugh. But then he freezes. The voice he just called out with was not his own.

The bed he was in was not his own.

The hands he looks down at, eyes widening with realization, are not his own.

“ _Fuck,”_ Yuuri whispers, still with that unfamiliar voice – his _soulmate’s_ voice.

It’s his birthday today. Yuuri Katsuki is 21 years old, and he’d gone to bed the previous night painfully aware of what that meant. Two things could have happened: one, he wakes up in his soulmate’s body, which is standard. Two, he wakes up in his own body, which either meant he was the older of the pair, or he simply didn’t have one. To be honest, Yuuri wasn’t sure which outcome he feared more.

But his fears were, apparently, unfounded. He swings his legs around and stands, giving the poodle an absent-minded pat on the head. He sways a bit, already feeling taller. Looking down, he sees that his soulmate’s skin is pale, elongated fingers on his hands. He’s also, Yuuri notes with a blush, _very_ fit.

Luckily, he spots a floor-length mirror on one of the walls, and he cautiously makes his way over. But just before he can step into view, he hesitates.

Suddenly Lilia’s stern voice is ringing in his head, telling him to get on with it, and despite his anxiety, he finds himself smiling as he turns to face the mirror.

He gasps.

His soulmate is _gorgeous._ Angular features, piercing blue eyes, and silvery-grey hair despite his otherwise youthful appearance. Yuuri leans in, disbelieving. What on earth did he do to deserve an angel for his soulmate? He touches his face, barely aware that the poodle has jumped off the bed and walked over to sit next to him.

The dog whines, nudging Yuuri’s leg. He wrenches his stare away from the mirror to look down, and he smiles weakly.

“Hi,” he greets. “I think your owner is my soulmate.”

He’s speaking in English, now aware of the Russian accent lilting his words. Is he still in Russia? That would make things easier. Oh, right, he’s supposed to call Lilia –

A doorbell jolts Yuuri out of his thoughts. The dog perks up and runs out of the bedroom, barks echoing behind him. The doorbell sounds again, then again, until it’s a jarring cacophony of bells that makes Yuuri wince. Lilia can wait a bit.

He makes his way out of the bedroom and peers around, until he spots the poodle pawing at what seems to be the front door. The ringing persists, and Yuuri murmurs, “Okay, okay,” to himself before he walks over, unlocks the door, and opens it.

Almost immediately, he feels an impact to his stomach, and he’s sent flying backwards until he lands on the floor. The poodle makes a distressed noise and bounds over to him, whining and licking him face as if that will make him feel better. In a distant way, Yuuri appreciates it.

“ _VICTOR!”_ a shrill voice screams. “ _Your ass is half an hour late for practice!”_

Yuuri sits up with a groan, hand hovering protectively over his stomach in case of a repeat assault. The person who’s just barged into his soulmate’s home is, to his surprise, a teenager, maybe no older than 15. He’s glaring down at Yuuri with such a hateful expression Yuuri almost squeaks in fear.

“Oi, Victor, do you hear me!? Yakov made me come down here to get you, the least you could do is reply, jackass!”

Yuuri blinks. His Russian isn’t great, even after a year of training in Moscow, but he’s caught the gist of it. All he latches onto, though, is his soulmate’s name.

Victor.

“Ah, um…” Yuuri struggles to stand up, and gestures to push up his glasses, before realizing that he’s not wearing them. “I’m sorry, uh… English?” he asks tentatively.

The teenager frowns. “What the fuck’s wrong with you?” he asks, still in Russian.

Repressing a sigh, Yuuri tries again. “Do you speak English? I’m not Victor.”

“Haah? What do you mean you’re not – oh.” The teenager’s jaw drops. Then, in English… “So you’re…”

Yuuri smiles and nods. “I’m his soulmate.” He sticks out his hand towards the teenager. “My name is Katsuki Yuuri. Or, uh, Yuuri Katsuki.”

The teenager’s expression changes again, the stunned surprised dropping in a second, and replaced with a look of incredulous anger.

“What? No. No way. Your name can’t be Yuri.”

Yuuri takes a step back, his hand falling back to his side. “W… Why not?”

“Because _my_ name is Yuri, you dipshit!”

“Oh. Well.” Yuuri rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. “That will be confusing, I guess.”

The teenager, Yuri, just makes an aggravated sigh and kicks the wall.

“Leave it to Victor _fucking_ Nikiforov to land a soulmate as annoying as he is,” he murmurs.

“Victor Nikiforov?” Yuuri narrows his eyes. He’s heard that name before. And, come to think of it, he’d looked familiar, too.

Yuri grunts. “So. Your name, it’s Japanese, right?”

“Uh, yes. But I live in Moscow, Russia, actually.”

“Huh. We’re in St. Petersburg right now.” Yuri tilts his head to the side, now looking just barely interested. Yuuri takes in the information and feels relieved. Well, at least his soulmate is close by. He can’t imagine what he’d do if he still lived in Hasetsu. “How long have you been in Moscow? Not long, I guess, since you can’t even speak Russian.”

“Ah, well…” Yuuri flushes. “It’s been about a year. I’m currently training as a ballet danseur under Madam Lilia Baranovskaya at the Bolshoi Ballet. Madam mostly speaks English to me, so…”

“Never heard of her,” Yuri replies, flippant. “But ballet, huh? Victor would probably like that. He used to do ballet, I think.”

“Oh?” Yuuri perks up, interested and excited at a possible common thread between him and his soulmate. “What does he do now?”

Yuri gives him another blank look and replies flatly. “Not much. He’s just a five-time World Champion figure skater and Russia’s national hero.”

“I… Oh.” Yuuri’s eyes are wide.

So _that’s_ why he’s heard Victor Nikiforov’s name before. He thinks of Yuuko, who had been big on figure skating before settling down with her own soulmate Takeshi, and the ear-splitting shrieks she would expel whenever something concerning Victor had come up on the news. Yuuri remembers finding Victor attractive in his youth, but then ballet had become more and more time-consuming, and he didn’t spare many thoughts for the world of skating after that.

A grin curls over his lips as he wonders how Yuuko will react when he tells her who his soulmate is.

“What’s that grin for? It’s creepy,” snaps Yuri, reminding Yuuri of his presence.

Yuuri holds up his hands with a placating smile. “Sorry, sorry. I just have a friend who’s a fan of Victor’s, so this will be interesting.”

Yuri harrumphs. “Whatever.” The blond shoves a hand into his pocket and pulls out a phone with a brightly-patterned case, a fierce tiger stamped in the center. “Guess I have to call Yakov and tell him what’s going on. Give me a minute.”

“Go ahead,” nods Yuuri. “I have to call Lilia, too…” He glances around, and spots a landline phone on the kitchen counter. As Yuri dials his coach, Yuuri makes his way over to the phone and starts to dial Lilia’s number, then holds the phone up to his ear, waiting expectantly. He can hear Yuri irately explaining the situation to whom he assumes is Yakov – hasn’t he heard that name, too?

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it as the phone clicks, and Lilia’s voice rings clearly on the other side of the line.

“Yuuri,” she says, like she already knows that it’s him.

“Madam,” he greets back, smiling, even though he can’t see her.

“I take it you’ve figured out who your soulmate is now, yes?”

“Yes. Victor Nikiforov, can you believe it?”

There’s a pause, then Lilia hums. “Are you pleased?”

Yuuri blushes hotly, glancing down at his soulmate’s body again before answering. He may not know Victor personally (yet), but _aesthetically…_ He is damn well pleased. Of course, when speaking to Lilia, one must have more decorum.

“I-I, uh… Y-Yes. I mean, a world champion athlete and national hero? I’m so lucky!”

There’s an indistinguishable noise in the background on Lilia’s end. Almost like a…. squeal? Yuuri frowns. Madam Baranovskaya doesn’t squeal.

Lilia sighs, sounding exasperated. “Victor seems happy to hear it.”

Oh, that was Victor, thinks Yuuri, calmly. Then, his cheeks explode red all over again.

 _Victor_ was there, with Lilia, in Yuuri’s own body. Of course he was, they’d swapped bodies, but _still._ Victor was evidently the squealing type, and was very happy that Yuuri considered himself lucky to have him as a soulmate.

“He wants to speak with you,” says Lilia, snapping Yuuri out of his daze. “Is that alright, Yuuri?”

“I…” He coughs, clearing his throat. “Y-Yeah, that’s okay.”

There’s the quiet fumble of the phone being handed off, and suddenly Yuuri’s voice comes through the speakers, brighter and bubblier than he normally speaks. It throws Yuuri off, but he recovers in time to catch what Victor is saying.

“Hi, Yuuri!” he chirps. “I’m Victor! I’m so happy to finally meet you!”

Yuuri wants to clarify that they technically haven’t _met_ yet, but Victor’s enthusiasm is apparently contagious, and he grins into the receiver.

“I’m happy to meet you, too,” he replies softly. “I hope I’m not too disappointing…”

“No, no,” admonishes Victor. “You’re perfect!” Yuuri can feel himself blush again, but Victor isn’t finished. “I-I mean, I know we don’t really know each other yet, but we’re soulmates! Of course you’re perfect.”

Yuuri almost thinks he can hear Victor blushing, and he represses a giggle, easily imagining his own flustered expression. “I’m glad. If it helps, we’ve already got one thing in common.”

“Oh?” Victor sounds interested. “What?”

“We both like poodles.”

“Ah, so you’ve met Makkachin!” he laughs. “Was he nice to you? Oh, do you have a poodle as well?”

“He was very affectionate,” Yuuri answers. “And no, unfortunately. I always wanted one, but my sister had allergies, so… No pets.”

Victor hums, and at the same time, Yuri finishes his call with Yakov and hangs up, walking over to where Yuuri is standing.

“You talking to Victor now?” he grunts, and after Yuuri nods, he swipes the phone out of his hand and barks, “Oi, geezer, Yakov wants to talk to you as soon as possible.”

He must have switched it to speaker, because Victor answers and Yuuri can hear him, too.

“Yuri! What are you doing at my apartment?”

“Yakov made me come and get you,” growls Yuri. “Only I end up with your fucking soulmate to take care of instead.”

“’Take care of’?” repeats Yuuri, incredulous. He’s a grown man. Plus, all Yuri's done is kick him in the stomach and swear at him. Yuuri makes a point of saying so.

Yuri ignores him.

“Well, I thank you for it!” Victor laughs. “Could you walk Makkachin, too? I still want to talk to Yuuri. Oh… Yuri and Yuuri. That will be confusing, won’t it?”

Yuuri almost giggles, but Yuri shoots him such a venomous look he smothers the noise before it can leave him.

“Figure that shit out on your own time,” Yuri barks to Victor. He shoves the phone back into Yuuri’s hands, before stalking over to the opposite wall and swiping what looks to be a leash off a coatrack. Makkachin pads over to him immediately, tail wagging with barely-concealed excitement as Yuri clips the leash to his collar and leads him out the door without another word.

Yuuri finds himself smiling. “That Yuri sure is interesting,” he says into the phone.

Victor laughs. “He’s like an angry kitten. Don’t worry, he warms up over time. Sort of. I’m still in the ‘thawing’ state myself, so I’m not too sure.”

Yuuri laughs, too. “Is he a figure skater, too?”

“Yup,” Victor says brightly. “He’ll be making his senior debut next season, so we’ll be competing against each other for the first time! He’s been especially difficult lately as a result. Oh, do you keep up with figure skating, Yuuri? You know, my coach is Lilia’s ex-husband.”

Yuuri blinks. Victor talks a mile a minute, though that may just be the excitement. “O-Oh, I didn’t know that… Madam doesn’t talk much about her personal life unless it directly connects to ballet.”

“Ah, I remember her being the same when I was younger. She’s a brutal woman, isn’t she?”

“I-Isn’t she still in the room with you?” Yuuri pales.

“It’s nothing I haven’t heard from this boy before, Yuuri,” comes Lilia’s bored voice. “He’s been insolent since day one.”

“But I’ve always been your favorite student, right?” coos Victor.

“Not anymore,” she drawls. “Yuuri is a much better dancer than you ever were. And he listens.”

Victor makes a wounded noise just as Yuuri blushes in reaction to the rare praise from his mentor.

“So cruel, Lilia… Still, I bet Yuuri is a wonderful dancer…” Victor sighs dreamily, unaware of how much darker Yuuri’s (or rather, Victor’s) cheeks have grown. “I’d love to see you dance,” he says, directing this statement at Yuuri, who startles.

“I – I, uh, I’d like that.” He swallows nervously. “I could watch you skate, too…”

“Deal!” Victor all but squeals. “Ah, but we should probably meet in real life first, hm?”

Yuuri chuckles. “That would be ideal.”

“I asked Lilia; you’re free tomorrow, right?”

“Yes?”

“Then I’ll take a train to Moscow first thing in the morning, after we switch back!”

“O-Oh,” Yuuri’s blush returns full-force. Victor is so excited to meet him, and the thought of that makes Yuuri’s heart flutter. “Don’t you have to practice, though?”

“I’ll skip tomorrow,” his soulmate says easily. “Yakov will understand.”

“I-If you’re sure…”

“Of course I am!” Victor drops his voice to a murmur, presumably to keep Lilia from overhearing. “I really want to meet you, Yuuri.”

Yuuri’s grip on the phone tightens as his head swims. “I… I really want to meet you too…”

“Then it’s settled. Now,” says Victor. Yuuri hears a door close on his end. “I’m in your room, totally alone. We can ask each other all the embarrassing questions we want!”

“W-What sort of questions?” Yuuri asks nervously, even as he makes his way over to the couch in Victor’s living room and settles there.

They spend the next fifty minutes sharing every detail they can manage to get out with each other, and despite Yuuri’s initial reluctance, he finds it all too easy to talk to Victor. Something warm settles in his chest as he laughs at something Victor – his soulmate – said, and he thanks the universe for doing this much, at the very least.

 

* * *

 

The train station is louder than Yuuri expected. Then again, the one back home in Hasetsu isn’t nearly as busy as Moscow’s.

He fidgets in place, barely aware of Lilia’s piercing gaze on his back. Instead, Yuuri looks out at the tracks, anxious for the next train’s arrival.

“Your bouncing won’t make him arrive faster,” his mentor says, not unkindly.

Still, Yuuri flinches and smiles sheepishly at her, opening his mouth for an apology. That’s when the next train arrives, wheels screeching on the tracks, and Yuuri whips his head around, the prima ballerina accompanying him all but forgotten.

The doors hiss open, and people begin to trail out, but Yuuri is looking for a very specific head of silvery hair.

Finally, he spots him.

“Victor!” he shouts, making the figure turn his head to see him waving like a madman.

Victor’s grin threatens to split his face in two, and he runs towards Yuuri as if they’re longtime lovers, not newly-minted soulmates. He’s got a bundle of flowers in his hands, Yuuri notices, but he can’t comment on it before Victor comes to a halt in front of him and thrusts the bouquet into his arms.

“Wh-?” Yuuri blinks, a red rose petal flying up and landing on the lapel of his jacket. He looks down at the flowers and then back up at Victor, who’s beaming like the sun.

“They’re for your birthday!” he answers Yuuri’s silent question. “I forgot to mention it yesterday, with all the excitement and everything, but… Happy belated birthday, Yuuri.”

Victor’s smile softens to an impossibly sweet degree, and Yuuri’s heart starts pounding like a drum in his chest. He ducks his head, burying his expression in the beautiful bouquet, and laughs.

“Thank you, Victor.”

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> you can scream about the Ice Gays with me over at my tumblr: persephoneggsy.tumblr.com


End file.
